To Run And Hide
by rwbybomb21
Summary: Running was all she was good for, all she was good at; well, that and fighting off leeches, shifters and other supernatural entities. So, when her eyes locked with a certain female Cullen's, why did she feel something other than sheer hatred? Bella/Alice. Art by Yuumei on DA.
1. Feline Frenzy

**Never, ever did I, in my wildest dreams, believe I'd write up a Twilight story. I detest the films, love the books, and overall enjoy the ideas that came to be, but...this? For me to write this? Unthinkable, unfathomable.**

**But it happened, and here you are, reading my travesty of a story.**

**Yay.**

**So, onto story news; Basically, Bella is one of the oldest shape shifters in existence, she's OOC as hell, and this story is a femslash one; interested? Good, then keep reading.**

**This is the only A/N for the rest of this story, by the way.**

**I don't own Twilight, 'cause if I did, Alice and Bella would be totally canon, and Bella would be a badass, cold ass bitch.**

**Have fun.**

(^^^^^^)

**545 AD**

Screams are the first thing I hear, flooding my senses from the outside world beyond my home's little wooden door with horror, pain, death. Getting up was a chore in and of itself; being the village's lead healer I had no choice but the run out and deal with the wounded forms limping around whatever village had decided to attack us next; Uncivil was one word for it.

I had to drag myself to the small area made of wood and tied together twigs that was the 'restroom', as some had taken to calling it. A small bucket filled with murky water to my left, a shattered piece of reflective glass on my right, and in the middle was a wooden tub, air tight and sturdy, for when we need to heal a patient through what I call 'Water therapy': Quite self explanatory really; I use soothing hot water to ease a patient's stiffened joints and muscles, then while they dry off, introduce freezing cold waters to open the pours on the skin.

I splash some of the bucket's water into my face; it stings my eyes momentarily, gathering salted tears standing at attention in my tear ducts, ready and waiting to be released. The smell of smoke fills my nose, and I just know this isn't a usual, every other week daytime attack. Well, for starters, it was night-time, around about midnight, to be fairly exact.

I sprinted now awake to the door of my single roomed cottage, flinging it open so harshly that I heard a splinter erupt from the side. No matter; I glanced down at it noncommittally before looking upwards at the fires raging around, men and women screaming as other men and women ripped them apart limb by limb. This definitely was not what I had come to know as routine; even the other villages, as primitive as they were, would not dare sully the memory of these sacred grounds by defilation such as this. While unspoken, a general law was passed around throughout the villages, warring or allied; dismemberment, murder and pillaging were all frowned down on, but simple raids were allowed: Disgusting when you think about it.

That's probably why I don't.

I didn't even register the speed of which the man that had been tearing apart a young village girl moved towards me; so quick it was that I fell straight on my backside before he hoisted me upwards, holding me by my throat with something inhuman in his grip. My hands shot towards my attacker's face, clawing, hoping to get free. I could feel the wind leaving my lungs, the rush of air mixed with blood suddenly stopping.

As my fist flew towards his nose, though, he flew, literally _flew_, backwards from me, releasing his grip. I fell to my feet, but something was off, something wrong, something different.

My feet weren't large paws, pitch black and clawed. My body didn't have jet black fur smoothing down my sides. I most definitely was not a massive five foot panther with glowing yellow eyes and feline ears atop my head.

And I most definitely was not about to rip this man's head from his shoulders. But I was when I saw who the man had killed, glancing downwards and freezing at the sight.

Jenny. Her name was Jenny- or for her full name, Jennifer Margot; Half French. She was my best friend, someone I had confided to in my darker days, the times when I felt the world was too violent for me and trying to suffocate my already feeble will to live in it, the times when suicidal thoughts sounded pleasing to my addled brain. We were close, but the village elder had discovered, and kept quiet, much to my relief, that we were closer. Friendship meant little a month ago to us. We had decided to keep it a secret, to hide it as long as possible, lest the religious men and women of this sickening village burn us at stakes, accuse us as hedonist witches and dunk us in rivers or more of the...pathetic ways of seeing to God's wishes. I lost my maidenhood to her, the memory still vivid in my mind as we made love, the act itself feeling heavenly, as if God himself would approve if only He had felt it.

When I was born, I was immediately made orphan; someone thought it funny to allow the wandering guards around our village to spend the night in the local inn; a tawdry little place with splinters and ragged beds with rough customers, ranging from travelling story tellers to old men with horrid pasts; very little meaning on the word 'inn'. Anyway, as the guards slumbered off one night, dousing their barely-existing troubles in ale and honey mead, some visitors paid my village a visit; well, my house, to be more exact.

You know, the little cottage barely holding together that I live in? Yeah, that one; they knocked, entered and slit my mothers throat. No reason, no method, just drew a small dagger, one slice, and then walked away as if nothing had happened, as if I hadn't been forced to grow up on the streets until I showed an extraordinary talent for healing my wounds.

The elder, Elijah- took his name from the Bible, and they call me a sinner?- happened upon me fixing my self up one dark night, tending my wounds with nothing but a cloth, some herbs and a bucket of water. Needles to say, he thought I was crazy. Well, that is until the cut began scabbing over two days later, and after a week, was simply a small patch of barely-there bruised skin that would disappear over time. He demanded to know what I was, thinking me some sort of witch; seriously, religion and witches? My village was the oddest.

I showed him which plants did what, having learned through tedious trial and error- the errors still showed their ugly scars- and he became instantly impressed; he offered me a chance to work as a village healer- good food, a warm bed...my old home. Needless to say, I accepted.

The village mothers hated me because I 'healed' their children of disease and lice and other sorts of disgusting manner, simply because they had been too inept in the art of healing to actually bother to look. One such child showed up on my doorstep, bleeding, heavily wounded, marks all over her; I began to suspect she was simply trying to see if I was as good as I say I am- of course I am- but one look into her fading eyes showed me what I needed to see.

This girl was injured, and I helped her, as was my duty.

The elder stood, tensed and alarmed, as he and the other villagers watched as I carefully wrapped damp cloth around the girl's exposed torso; I really did try to ignore the village boys whispering about how she and I would make excellent wives for them one day. I simply tended to my patient, as always with the same care a mother would give her crying child. As the cloth, damp and now stained with blood, began to suck out the red life liquid, I sprinkled salt on her wounds. She let it be known that it hurt, and I had done this many a time before.

I knew exactly what she would do next.

She screamed, loud and wailing, piercing my ears in a way never did I ever once think possible. She thrashed and sputtered, begging and pleading through sobs and tears, but I continued on; the elder was even tenser, and I considered allowing him to use the water tub; but I digress. She eventually calmed, and a measly three days later, when I peeled the wraps off of her unconscious torso, the elder was amazed as he saw the results; Nothing but bruises.

It was then that she, the patient of mine, was assigned under strict watch- my watch, of course- and supervision. But obviously I cared a little too much, watched a little too much, and she fell for me and me, her.

She made me smile, laugh, cry and giggle like a small girl with a wooden toy. She made me happy and sad and actually be able to feel emotions.

She made me _live_.

This man took that away from me, too quick, too fast, too unnecessary. It hurt, like daggers in my spine, or needles stabbing my heart. It hurt like a thousand rapiers drilling my torso, salt being slathered on my wounds and the repeat rinsing itself once more. It was...it _hurt_.

I was angry, I was pissed, I was..._hurt_. Beyond measure was I hurt, the emotion of rage building, climbing. It scaled my body, hitting me in the heart with how cruel this man must be to kill an innocent girl.

My blood boiled, and I charged.

Not one of the invaders stood when I was finished, a flurry was all I was to them. blurs, after-images and low hisses and growls were the only things seen and heard as I lay waste to the intruders upon my home; but alas I was too late. My village, my people, were all dead, all burnt with the fires of murder and rampant destruction: Slaughtered like cattle, like pigs, like cows; Slaughtered in their own homes, with their children and wives.

So I did what my heart told me to do, what I felt was right, what I knew was right.

I ran.

(^^^^^^)

**1979**

I run. It's what I'm good at; I was built for it, shaped for it, made for it. Most whine and cry about not being able to run when they're confined to their homes and cottages, lit by scarcely available torches hanging from walls and chandeliers. But I love it; a life without running for me would be hellish, nightmarish...

...Especially considering I would have died if I had not run.

I don't even know how long I've been running, especially given the changes around me happening before my very eyes. I've been alive for so long, watched as people changed and shifted before me; the era evolved from daggers made of iron to those made of steel. Then from daggers to swords, swords to muskets, muskets to funny looking, smaller muskets- they seemed to be able to wield them in one hand- and then, finally, evolved past that completely with factories, moving metal cans containing a number of humans, and funny looking machines held in their hand as they...pressed their fingers into them repeatedly, or held them to their ears.

I ran from that village, leaving everything behind all those years ago, and discovered a small pride, of which I now live; turns out I'm not the only shape shifter around here. Also turns out those people murdering villagers and hunting humans are Cold Ones; vampires.

Now, while one may suggest to me that, after I told them my tragic tale, I go see someone to put a cannon to my face, I would agree; vampires though? It made perfect sense from the legends, what with me being created by He-who-is-such-an-ass God to hunt them down as my sole purpose in life.

Well, not life, un-death; you see, I have heard about shifters, after me and my pride roamed around, being able to live through their change. The fact is...the first shifters- me and my pride- die once the change is complete, very similar to those of the vampire nature. We go through immense pain when shifting, and some of us found it easier to simply stay in our forms, whatever they may be.

Of course, while I thought this, my Alpha threw me a lewd thought of one of the shifters being able to turn into a...very phallic shaped object. Regardless to say me and the other females of the pride threw our own thoughts out there, and some of the males laughed; my new best friend though, Margaret, looked as if she were about to throw up.

My village healing abilities didn't go unnoticed by my Alpha, so I was assigned the rather daunting task of becoming the pride's healer; first village and now for the pride? God really did hate me.

The Alpha snickered as he strolled off, his golden main shining as he swished his tail from side to side. I ignored him, gliding my way over to Margaret. She forgot her last name, as did most of the pride, when they changed. For some reason, those placed under stress and high amounts of panic felt their memories return to them in time. I had my memories from the start.

'_Margaret?'_ She was always such a sensitive soul, never wanting to hurt any living creature, evil or no. It was a wonder why God, the big douche-bag in the sky, decided to turn her into...what we were.

'_I'm fine, just something I ate.' _I clearly didn't believe her, and it must have shown on my face, for she shot me a cougar's attempt of a smile, flashing a row of pearly white teeth and pointed canines that stretched just beyond her top lip, protruding slightly.

'_Oh yeah, don't worry, I totally believe you'_. I smirked in my mind when I heard some of the males balking in laughter; some of them wolf whistling- literally- while others simply sniggered while projecting random thoughts such as 'I wonder who'll be the next member' or 'I wonder if I'd kill the next leech'.

Males were always those with a one track mind.

I sighed mentally, the Alpha telling me to hurry up; they'd spotted some leech shooting around as fast as lightning, trying to get away from some other Cold Ones. Naturally, that interested me, for me nor the others have ever heard of a leech chasing another leech.

'_Are you certain of what you saw?'_ scepticism didn't get me very far in the pride, me almost being labelled an Omega by my own Alpha, but my healing capabilities held them all from banishing me; they needed me, so until they didn't, which would be never, they'd simply allow my thoughts to run wild.

But even the Alpha seemed unsure, growling in frustration. _'Yes, but we need you to catch them. We want the leeches chasing her dead, and the female brought to me'._

I didn't ask why, already knowing the answer; she was to be interrogated to see if there was a nearby coven, a family of vampires, living in our land.

Soundlessly I blurred through the forest surrounding me, feather soft footsteps never once crunching under the dead leaves of Fall. Being the fastest meant I could keep up with or even surpass the natural speed of a vampire, allowing me to sprint to the location my Alpha had ordered me to go to without noise.

It was when I got there, stopping and crouching to observe from the shadows, did I see what my Alpha meant.

A female vampire, barely taller than me in my animal form, was fighting off two newly 'blooded' vampires; newborns. I hated them, their strength only able to surpass my own by an inch. I was the strongest and fastest, but what I made up for in speed, wisdom and strength, not to mention intelligence, I lacked for the departments of beauty, authority and instinct. My pride instinct was all but disappearing as of late, and I as well as the others knew it; I was hated, but to have your instincts slowly removed from you until you became nothing more than emotionless and cold was something that not even an Alpha would wish on an Omega.

Black, spiked hair slicked with water and dirt on one side, the other sticking up, almost giving her the look of a pixie; her small stature didn't do her any favours. Her face was smooth, as with all vampires, void of imperfections. Slim yet muscled, lean but not bulky. She almost looked like she belonged in the era of the World War with the way she fought; hands were up in a boxer's stance, yet her form was all wrong, as if she were expecting some sort of knife to the back or a pistol to be shoved in her face.

Her eyes were gold though, and how strange it was that I couldn't feel my Alpha's thoughts...or anyone's. I hope they're all fine, that they are simply watching silently from the brushes surrounding me. I was proven right when I saw Rebecca, another one of the pride, peek at me from across the clearing that the vampires were fighting in. But...she was giving me a pitying look, as if she knew this would happen, as if something bad had just occurred.

I flushed it to the back of my mind when I saw a newborn land a backhand across the pixie's cheek, sending her sprawling to the floor in pain.

Something happened though, a blur, another vampire, came shooting from the forest surrounding me, from somewhere, and smashed straight into the side of the offending newborn, ripping its head clean off in the process. So there is more than one? This would get complicated real fast.

But it didn't, because just as the pixie and the blur had appeared, they vanished, the only trace of their existences being small amounts of their scent left.

I memorised hers in the years to come, the scent of honey and lavender pushing me forwards, her golden eyes keeping me grounded. That is until I discovered why the pack left, why they upped without a trace.

A note, written by my Alpha- previous Alpha- Carlos.

'I never decided this, you were a good egg...decided that...too painful...strong...hate you...Omega.'

They were the words that I managed, amongst the rabble of other words coming to my watering eyes, to see through the haze of utter anguish. I may not have liked our Alpha, but I did like the rest of them, treating them as if they were my family, my very being within themselves. I fought Cold Ones alongside them, ripped animals to shreds with them, ate, slept and talked with them. They must have known of the utter anguish I was feeling, because I could tell Carlos hadn't officially branded me as an Omega to the rest of them just yet. The sick bastard was transmitting my feelings, thoughts, pain to each and every one of them, as if to tell them that it was explicitly his fault, as if I wasn't just made into their public enemy number one.

They were family, and they would hunt me down, rip me apart? I walked, head down and purring softly to myself, as I placed one paw in front of the other. Immediately as I stopped, I looked up to see the faces of those I've come to love as family, and as that thought came to mind, I could clearly see the etched pain slathered across their looks, their very souls burning with hatred for themselves for having to do this. Carlos, now human, didn't look nearly as sorry as he said so in the paper, but that was probably his aversion to any emotions other than perversity, strong dislike for me, or hatred for anything to do with me.

Rebecca almost whined like a dog when she saw me look at her with wide, light silver eyes and a broken heart; she was a good fiend, and I was on the verge of asking her to a date before all of this. I could see her bow her head sorrowfully as I thought that, and a small emotion was chipped away from my very being; love. I would never love again after this.

I then turned my head to Carlos, the all around father figure. I felt familial love from him, something that I had never given or been given before, and I saw his look of utter disdain cross his face as I thought this, and he sighed, irritably while running a hand over his mouth. Something fell away form me again, and as I tried to figure out what it was, it hit me like bricks; I would never feel friendship, love, hate...I would never feel any sort of emotion again.

I am truly broken now, something they used up and discarded when the time was right; a distraction, a thing to see as nothing more than an object. Never would I ever again feel anything for anyone, anything.

Carlos knew, for he smirked evilly, but with a regrettable sigh behind his voice as he issued the command every Omega eventually hears.

"Pride, Isabella Swan is now an Omega and she is now no longer one of us!" the pack howled, growled and hissed at me, but I simply stood, eyes unblinking. "Drive her off, and if necessary, kill her!"

I felt things back then, things that no one should feel before they get ripped away form your very being, your very soul. They get held out in front of you just to get ripped apart in front of your very eyes.

I felt empty as I did it, and I felt no remorse. I did what I was best at, what I was _good_ at.

I ran.

(^^^^^^)

**Chapter one is over, finally; well, it wasn't that long, but these chapters get longer and longer. Let me know if you want the story to stay in first person, or change to third; third is easier for me, but hey, the choice is there, right?**


	2. The Wolves Descend

**All right, as I think I said, I will not be making anymore A/N's except if they're necessary, so...read on, I suppose.**

(^^^^^^)

The years hadn't changed much, the twenty-first century being the pinnacle of high school and teen drama, high crime and drug rates, and scientific wonderments; if only Charlie were still alive, this would be the ex-police chief's playground. He'd love it: The testosterone from sweating teenagers, the hormones filling the air, the fights, the murders, the 'animal attacks'; He'd love it all...and she ended that, she took that chance away from him, away from his family as well.

Dwelling was getting nowhere for Bella, so she placed down her Jane Austin book, sighing as she remembered the time that she met the iconic author herself; that time was one ripe with feminine sexism and slavery of the different ethnicities that were unfortunate, at the time, to live there.

Her eyes snapped to the book sitting neatly on the cave floor, remembering the day she last saw her friend hold that same book.

"_Jane, I must ask you something."_

_Jane placed her book down, sighing in content as her blue eyes met with Bella's unique cat-like slanted luminescent green ones. Bella had been her friend for a while, and hadn't aged a single bit; through much harassment and threats of public acknowledgement- Bella hated the sexist public back then- Jane learned the truth, of why exactly Bella was freezing cold, yet still emanated warmth, and why exactly she had pointed feline ears atop her head. Why she purred when said ears were stroked, why she hissed when Jane was in danger; she learned the reason, and quite frankly couldn't care less. _

"_How may I help you, 'old' friend?"Emphasising the word 'old' caused Bella's eye to twitch._

_Bella huffed. "Clearly age has done you no wonders, either; still as mentally challenged as a four year old child, it seems." She smiled when Jane made a face, but continued no more until the question was asked. _

_Silence reigned, and Jane was just about to pick up her book again, before Bella flashed over to her, kneeling down and gently placing it within her weathered, ancient hands. Paper thin skin held her dusty bones and worn muscles on the inside of her body, while greyed blue eyes that had seen more than their fair share thanked her silently. It made this all the more worsening to be done, but needs and wants are completely irrelevant, completely disconnected from each other; she needed to do this, but she did not want to. _

_But she had to, and with that, she looked Jane in the eye._

She shook her head, ridding herself of the current memories; memories were something she often lost herself in, seeing as those were times when emotions actually meant something, that family was not just a word; she found a sister in Jane, and would not let her go easily...though she did. The sting is long gone, a simple mark left on her scarred mind where the memory was- is.

Bella stood, staring unemotionally at the piece of paper in her hands- entry forms for Forks High School. While the name was rather...uncreative, the location was perfect; Forks, Washington, was almost always cloudy, raining, snowing, or rarely a weird combination of the three; on the off chance that it did show the sun through the misty clouds and fog that lurked within the surrounding forests, Bella could simply stay indoors- the sun never did stay out for long.

Hefting her leather backpack around her shoulders with ease, she turned, looked at the temporary home she had made for herself- a previously occupied wolves' den- and bid it a silent farewell, before taking her first steps out of the den she had once called home.

A scent caught her nose; wet, the smells of rain, fresh snow, lavender with a hint of honey, strawberry, stale milk and vanilla pervaded her nostrils, too sweet to the point of her gagging and dry heaving, ridding the scent from her nose- but she kept such inane actions in.

Vampires were around.

But these smelled...different, almost no trace of human blood surrounded their long gone auras of death and decay that they had left behind- well, all save for her best friend, and only friend, Jasper; he held an air of experience that was only matched by her, and so when they met as enemies, they left the battlefield as long time friends. This smell though felt somewhat familiar, so she couldn't exactly place it. Vampires were her natural enemy, so the ability to smell them was completely natural, as was her dead heart that yearned to be removed from the corpse of a walking body it was placed in; but Bella had no fight left to stop such actions coming true. She had given up at least twenty years ago, the world deemed to cruel to have such a soul as her in it.

That wasn't to say she'd go down without a fight.

Shaking her head once more, black locks swaying as they did so, she placed over her feline eyes a pair of sunglasses, pitch black. People trying to see through the often seen transparent ones that normal pharmacies and convenience stores sold kept her on edge- giving up on life doesn't mean giving up on her identity, and the world she was made apart of. She knew the consequences of the supernatural being discovered- mobs, pyres, stakes made of 'holy' wood and silver weapons.

She had suffered eighteen days straight due to someone mistaking her for a vampire, and slamming a stake through her chest- her heart may be dead, but she can tell you this; nerves are most certainly _not_ dead.

She ignored the creeping images of pain and anguish that began to fade into her mind, and placed atop her head a small, holed hair band; the piece of plastic with the two slits on the top allowed for her ears to be hidden- in plain sight that is- but at the same time be unrestricted, her hearing having suffered more times than she would even bother to count due to the hoods and hats that she had to place over them in the last area she was in.

'_Oh well'_, she shrugged, _'time to earn my keep'._

She turned to the woods to see a familiar set of orange eyes staring back at her, and she nodded.

"Off to school Jasper, we've got some learning to do."

They both nodded to each other, and flashed out of existence.

(^^^^^^)

"Another day, another high school." Alice Cullen turned to her brother, Edward, the question on her mind never leaving the confines of her lips. She hated when he read her mind, it was too much of an invasion of privacy, and Alice, being the drop dead gorgeous pixie that she is, prefers her private thoughts and feeling to remain just that; but with a Telepath and an Empath in her family, that made her wishes to be completely null and void.

"We're not leaving. School is all we have, Alice; Carlisle told you this." Edward liked to think himself the head of the family when Carlisle wasn't there. He also liked to probe people's minds and make them squirm like insects, while he held that cool, calm facade.

And he pouted, a lot. "I do not pout; I simply acknowledge that I am bad at facial expressions."

Emmett joined in this time, throwing an arm around his faster but weaker younger sibling. "Cheer up Eddie! This is where Alice meets her..." he looked down at Alice, his eyes holding mischief and his lips twitching upwards slightly. "..._Mate_."

Alice turned several shades red- well, she would if she had that ability anymore; probably the only time she'll thank being undead- and looked shyly down to the ground, her eyes distant yet clear; when they were clouded, that was when she had visions.

Rosalie, seeing her sister's distress, decided to help her out a bit. "Guys, we're missing the important fact here." As she said this, they all stopped and turned their heads to Rosalie, who simply smirked devilishly as she noticed that they had stopped walking and were in the middle of the hall- empty, thankfully, but still near where people could hear her.

"Which is...?" Emmett; always cheery, yet so inquisitive. One day it would be her mate's downfall; bah, as if! He was too strong to fall to some lousy stupidity, and anything to get in his way was crushed like an ant beneath a massive boot. He was the boot.

"Edward still pouts a lot."

And somehow, through those words, the conversation was shifted from one subject, one topic clearly sore for some- uncomfortable for others- to something they could all make light of; that something being Edward, and to say he was unhappy with this change of events would be a major understatement. He was...pissed; yes, pissed seemed like the better word to use, describing his current attitude.

As they laughed, the bell overhead rang, drowning out the chuckles and giggles coming from the strange family of Cullens, to the hustle and bustle of everyday school life; thankfully graduation was only a year away, then they'd move or lay low and attend a different school in another couple of years.

Well, not until they met Alice's prophesised mate, that is. You see, a mate to a vampire is something completely different than a mate to a human. A human's mate is someone they trust unconditionally, mentally becoming pained to leave them, but able to get over them after some time. Vampires, however, are _physically unable_ to leave their mates, a dull aching within their heart that gradually grows to become painful sets in otherwise; then the ache turns into full blown maddening pain, burning beneath their skin, burrowed within their chest that spreads throughout the entire body like wildfire until you either end your own life to end the pain itself, or restlessly search for that one person called your mate. They complete the other, are the only true love a vampire could hope to find, and no matter how grizzled, how veteran the vampire be, they will always want that instinctual love a mate would provide.

Alice had felt neither the pain nor the need, but she had been searching for a mate for _far_ _too_ long. They showed up in a vision, the school, the date, the exact time they'd see each other, but not who they were; it was maddening in and of itself, but the one thing that drove her to find this person was their scent- even through visions she sometimes caught scents and smells, and this person's was unmistakeable. The smell of fresh cream, blackberry and something resembling an oceanic breeze were hard to forget. It was intoxicating, almost...inviting.

She snapped out of it when she, as well as the other Cullens, caught snippets of conversation from the many students around.

"Did you hear about the new girl?"

"...dude, she's hot...if only she didn't have that lapdog following her around."

"You do know how bad that sounded, right?"

"Whatever, man; I'm not into her anyway, she talks like she's from the freakin' stone ages or something: Got confused when Jessica asked for her number."

This intrigued all Cullens, for now they were solely playing their attention to the small conversation going on between Angela Weber, Mike Newton and Eric Yorkie; the three of them were used to the Cullen's odd behaviours, so they simply looked in unison to the family who were currently staring, before looking back at each other and continuing their conversation, albeit slightly hushed than before.

Eric looked at Mike confusedly. "You mean she doesn't have a phone?"

Mike snorted. "No, I mean she doesn't know what a phone is, man. She's weird...but hot." He whispered underneath his breath, much to his annoyance that Mike and Angela heard, "Might ask her to sit at our table."

Eric simply shrugged his shoulders dramatically, sighing heavily as he looked at Mike with what could be called pity. "Poor, innocent, naive little Mike..." he placed a hand on Mike's shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. "Not before I do!" He then bolted down the hallway, Angela and Mike slowly catching up by jogging, lest they get shouted at for running in the halls again.

Before anyone could say a word, the bell rang, indicating the lunch period.

This was it; the time to meet her mate.

Edward snorted. "Would you stay out of my head for like five minutes?" she wasn't angry, Alice was used to Edward's...gift, and openness with other people's minds, but to have him in your head, probing every little thought a feeling? It was unnerving, and that's the _nicest_ way to put it.

He raised his hands in submission as they all walked in, eyes trailing around the packed cafeteria, before they all eventually went and sat down with salads on each and every one of their plates. Of course, they'd never get eaten, but no one dared to care what the Cullens did- they were the weird family, the ones with two siblings dating each other and the other two suspected to be with each other.

As they sat there, small conversation leaving their minds and to each other in small whispers, a scent strong enough to knock her on her backside filled Alice's nose, and her eyes widened as she as well as the other Cullens frantically looked around; the entire canteen stopped breathing for some reason, no noise filtering through.

Well, except for the dull footsteps of one person and the barely audible steps of another- even to a vampire, the steps were feather light, almost as if they were purposefully trying not to draw attention to themselves.

A male walked in, and immediately most of the human women began swooning; a sharp chin and chiselled jaw set upon a rounded face with pale skin and red lips. He wore some sort of military coat, though from what year, no Cullen could tell, but they could see his clearly defined muscles beneath the dark green jacket and khaki cargo pants. With his hair swept to the side of his head, he looked like he belonged from a different time altogether, and that was when the smell hit them. He was a vampire, obviously, but his scent was not of that which Alice described.

But the thing that caught the Cullen's eyes were the set of orange ones staring directly at the entrance to the canteen area, as if the person about to walk through was the most important person in the world. As soon as the scent hit the Cullens, this person instantly became not only the most important, but the most treasured person to not only the world, but their family as well.

Alice gasped; her mate was a woman? Well...she was very attractive and hot and...Oh no, she's fallen for her already.

Well, Edward could see why; pale skin that shone slightly in the artificial lighting, small hands but calloused, as opposed to smooth, and not a single spot, freckle or wart in sight. In fact, there was not a blemish upon her skin. Raven black hair, with an equally as dark hair band, kitten ears seeming to be sewn onto them and a pair of pitch black sunshades covering her eyes; how curious, was she sensitive to light or something?

They overheard Jessica filling in the table of friends she usually sat with all the information they had discovered about her; Edward listened intently to her speech, as did Alice with almost undying interest. Rosalie seemed bored, but once she spotted a scar that ended its trail at her neckline, starting somewhere far below, she became curious about her; perhaps the human would be interesting to befriend after all. Emmett was too busy making paper aeroplanes with his napkins, but you could tell he was listening when he'd stop his crafting momentarily and tilt his head sideways before continuing.

As the female and blonde male walked to an empty seat far away from any windows or natural lighting, Jessica began her speech. "That's Isabella Swan, though she prefers Bella. The boy with her is Jasper Whitlock, ex military guy; he's cute." Edward witnessed a tiny, small smirk grace jasper's face as he followed his companion. Jessica continued. "Bella's got those sunglasses because her eyes are sensitive to light or something."

"Yeah, right, and I'm Superman." Mike stood up, but thankfully before he could attempt anything, Eric pulled him down, using his fingers and placing them over his lips, dramatically signalling that Mike should be 'quiet for the story' Jessica was spinning.

"Anyway, she's originally from London- you know, England- but she's been travelling around so much, she got bored, so she just ended up here." Jessica finished just as Jasper pulled out a chair for Bella to sit in, the girl in question nodding her head in silent thanks before sitting and pushing herself in. Jasper sat down shortly after, the silence between the two was unearthly, as if such silence was common; in reality though, their lips were moving, with the words being too quiet for humans to hear, and them being a far enough distance away for the Cullen's not to be able to hear either.

Eric looked over to the table at the presumably silent friends, before looking back at Jessica. "And what about...what was his name-?"

"-Jasper?" Jessica filled in, to which Eric and Mike both nodded; the others of their table had left as soon as Bella had walked in, needing to go freshen up for next lesson- Angela was always a good liar, and it was easy to see that Bella's very presence made her feel threatened to her obvious crush on Eric. "He's a southerner- Texas, to be specific; joined up with a military academy or something, then left. Bella and jasper don't really talk about themselves much, if at all, so I had to do some digging."

Alice as well as the other Cullens tuned out by then, the conversation no longer holding merit for their needs; they had learned all they needed to know from simple gossip, and while Edward would simply dig through Bella and jasper's thoughts to find more information, Alice insisted that it not be necessary. The two were fated to meet soon anyway.

And there it was, Bella looked her way, and Alice felt her undead heart flutter at the sheer sight of...no smile. No look of anger, sadness, joy, no emotion; nothing. Her face was blank, as if the very word emotions meant little to her; this might be difficult, but she dropped that thought when jasper suddenly stood, Bella following soon after. Before they knew it- Emmett wasn't paying attention, so it was quite literal- the Whitlock and Swan duo had just appeared in front of them, Jasper with a small, curt smile, Bella with nary an expression save for blankness.

Jasper was about to speak, but Emmett beat him to it, standing tall with a large smile on his face. "...Name's Emmett." He shot his large hand out, easily dwarfing Bella's and jasper's combined, and after a second of hesitation, jasper cautiously brought his hand out as well. "Nice to meet ya jazz."

"Yes...ahem, howdy." As he awkwardly shook the hand back, wincing slightly as Emmet let his hand go, Rosalie stood next, swatting Emmett over his head and earning a whine; by then, the entire canteen were engaged in conversation with each other, so no one noticed the spectacle occurring within their very proximity.

"Rosalie," she greeted, dipping her head slightly before looking between Bella and Jasper. "How do you do." The greeting was sent to Bella, who simply nodded.

Edward stood next, his face as impassive as Bella's; he knew this was some sort of trick, no one could be this impassive, emotionless. "Edward Cullen, bitten 1915."

"Jasper Whitlock," he extended his hand, shaking Edward's slightly before releasing. "Bitten during the Civil war of the 1800's." his southern drawl showed through the small facade of a slight Londoner accent he had built up, and he mentally cursed himself.

All of the Cullen's turned their heads to Bella, who was stood with her shades still covering her eyes, her head bowed slightly and her arms crossed over her chest. She looked up, seeing the stares, and sighed. "Isabella Swan." They all noticed that she had not mentioned her bite, which meant that she was not a vampire; interesting.

Edward nudged Alice in the shoulder with his elbow, tilting his head to Bella and jasper. "H-Hi, I'm Alice."

Jasper's eyebrows rose slightly at her stutter, and an emotion hit him solidly; admiration, mixed with slight hints of happiness, longing and friendship. "Excuse me, Alice, but may I ask...why the admiration?"

Seeing her confused state, Bella simply tightened the grip she had around her body with her crossed arms, before she shook her head slightly, locks falling to cover the front of her sunglasses; she made no move, to the Cullen's surprise, to remove them, as if the curtain of black covering the front of her shades meant little to her, as if she could see finely. "Jasper is an Empath."

"I...see." Rosalie coughed, brining Bella and jasper's attention to her. "We should probably not talk about this here; how about at our place?" Alice shot Rosalie a look of thanks, while she shot one of irritancy, but slight pleasure at seeing Edward squirm- she really wished why though.

Jasper replied, Bella simply staring blankly as he did so. "I see no reason why we shouldn't." He looked to Bella, who simply shrugged, as if not caring. "Then it's settled."

As Jasper and Rosalie exchanged pleasantries and addresses- Jasper not having any didn't surprise the vampires, but Bella not having one did- Alice never took her eyes off of Bella, who was looking as if the world had forsaken her somehow, and she had given up with everything; jasper seemed to gravitate towards her, as she did to him, as if they were both the sole reason for the other's existence. It greatly saddened her, but her thoughts turned to that of their supposed future, and she grinned; she'd show this woman some other reason to continue life even if it killed her- metaphorically speaking, of course.

But there was a way she held herself, as if she had tried once before for a reason to continue onwards, and had found none; that, or the reason was too far out of reach, or she had found it and lost it tragically. Bella's eyes weren't visible, but the simple way she walked, stood, even sat, said all Alice needed to know; Bella was used to being alone, as if she had lived a very long life of it, and was used to it so much that she was obviously still put off by the fact Jasper was with her- yet, for some reason, Bella kept him around...she wandered why that was.

She'd find out sooner or later; no need to complicate things as much as they already were.

(^^^^^^)

If she were human she'd say the Cullen's home was unnecessarily big and somewhat surprising, but being what she is, and considering how long she'd been alive and travelling, she'd seen it all; dungeons, spires atop castles, ancient crypts and pyramidal homes to name but a few. Of course, jasper was enamoured with the place, his head looking upwards towards the very top, his eyes following every nook and cranny of the insides, outsides, even the surrounding forest.

It was when he turned to Bella that he noticed her indifferent behaviour, but chose not to comment; if there was one thing he had learned, it was to never question Bella Swan over anything. It wasn't exactly pretty when he did that last time.

She could see the question in his eyes, and he could see the monotonous expression beneath the sunglasses; it was frustrating to consider yourself friends with someone who only sees you as company. Friends was stretching it for her anyway, and he knew of her terrifying past; the things she used to do, the things she is now, what she used to have, and what she doesn't have now. He doesn't know everything of course, Bella would never divulge her entire life story to a stranger; a _stranger_ that she had been travelling with for at least ten years now. He understood that they both had things to run from, but the way she described her life currently one night, was she has everything to run from and nothing to run to.

Edward, who was silently picking through Jasper's memories, came across a peculiar thought, but after listening to it, he glanced towards the stoic woman; she could feel his staring, and as she glared back, a small frown plastered upon her usually unemotional face, he turned quickly away, leading the entire family of Cullens, including the 'plus-twos', to the front of the massive almost completely glass house.

Bella was watching with barely any interest whilst the tall mind reading Cullen approached the door as the rest of them just stood there, staring at the front door and then the duo of newcomers with interest and, in Alice's case, shyness. One could tell she was a very giddy person, but today it felt as if it was being...held back, contained within herself for the time being, as if something had caught her interest and the entirety of her focus was placed on that one thing- Jasper could see that the thing was Bella, but decided to ignore it.

His attention was brought back to the front door- he assumed- of the house; blonde hair swept to the side, peach lips and rounded cheeks. The usual for a vampire for unnatural beauty, their predatory bodies needing something to acclimate the needs of a human's long enough to draw them in; bit this man's eyes were orange, as were the rest of his family, which meant they were like Jasper himself.

"Vegetarian vampires," that caught the eyes and gazes of the two new vampires. "I thought I was the only one, until I saw your family."

The blond looked at Jasper with a soft, inviting smile, almost fatherly. "Ah, you must be Jasper! I am Carlisle, and this," he pointed to the black haired woman next to him, sporting a small smile and a motherly attitude radiating off of her "Is Esme." He shook Jasper's hand before looking towards Bella with a quirked eyebrow. "And who is this?"

"This would be Bella, the one who showed me that I didn't need to feed off of people to survive." Jasper supplied, knowing Bella would simply stare, as she was now.

"Welcome, Bella." Carlisle extended a hand to shake, but seeing Bella simply glance down at it, then back up at him, before nodding put him off slightly. "Uh, we would be delighted for you to stay over."

Esme joined in, shushing the siblings- who had now began to stare and whisper- in the process. "That is if you don't need to head back home anytime soon."

Bella turned her head to Esme at this point, glaring slightly, causing the vampire to stare confusedly. "We don't have a home: Haven't for a while, miss." Jasper turned his head to the glaring Bella, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Instantly, her sunglasses-covered eyes shifted onto him, and he shook his head. "Especially her; she's been alone for a long, long time."

"Oh...I see. Well..." she turned her head to Bella, who had her arms wrapped around her stomach and her head down- Esme's eyes shifted to behind Bella, where Edward was trying to sneak- and smiled, as if nothing was wrong. "Would you like to stay with us?"

Before Bella could answer, Edward used his vampire speed, blurring to Bella and, in one swift movement of hands, removed her sunglasses- well, he tried, but as his hands came an inch from the glasses, still using his vampire speed, Bella caught it by the wrist. She, a human, was holding a fully matured vampire's hand.

"What the-!?" he was cut off when Bella's fist impacted with his stomach, causing him to keel over as the sound of familiar marble cracking could be heard. He got back up, eyes black, but with the sunshades in his hands nonetheless.

Bella snarled, using her superhuman speed to kick Edward in the stomach, causing him to lift in the air, and then she jumped up, grabbed her sunglasses and placed a hand on his chest before throwing him down to the ground.

All of this happened within ten seconds, and every single vampire- save for Jasper- had their mouths open in shock, or awe in Emmett's case, at the spectacle they had just witnessed.

As she landed, her back to the Cullens, she lifted the sunglasses to her face, covering her eyes once more; thankfully her hair was covering her eyes when they were torn off, otherwise she would have explaining to do- well, more explaining if you counted the situation she was now in.

Rosalie cleared her throat- an unnecessary thing to do for a vampire- and directed her gaze to Bella once more, who was stood straight, in the same place she was before; Edward was at her feet, groaning while holding his arms around his chest as if to stem the pain, though his eyes held a curious look- there was pain in there too, but curious was what was felt the most.

"Well, it's quite clear you are most certainly not human."

"Obviously." A voice came from behind Bella, causing the woman to sniff the air and hiss as she spun around, her hands poised as if they were claws and her teeth threatening to bare themselves.

Tan, muscular with only a pair of denim shorts covering him; Black hair that covered the top of his head, but looked to be newly shaven. Sweat shone on his arms, legs and chest, indicating he had run here. Why though was the question on every Cullen's mind; Edward was too busy in ain on the floor to care to read his mind for the answer.

"Jacob."

Jacob turned his head to Bella, stopped glaring and shot her a small smile, to which she glowered at. "Bella, it's good to see you again."

"Is it?" she questioned, a look of utter disdain completing her normally stoic face. "Is it really?" her tone was angry, her hands shaped like claws and her feet and knees bent low, almost feral.

Jacob took in her stance, and knew she was ready to fight at a moment's notice. "Y-Yes, look; I know...we've had our fair share of wrongs done to you-"

"Of wrongs? You call attacking me for no reason a simple wrong?"

"It...It wasn't our decision; the Alpha we had back then refused to allow any other person on the Reservation without his express permission."

Her voice suddenly dropped dangerously low, a tone not even Jasper had heard. "Get me Sam."

Jacob's head shot up at the order, and he grew irritated. "You can't just-"

Within an instant Bella had flashed in front of Jacob, her gaze behind the sunglasses boring into his wide, fear filled brown eyes. "Get me Sam, mutt, or so help me..." to prove her point, she took a step closer.

That was all that was needed, for Jacob scurried backwards, running with his tail between his legs- metaphorically, at least.

A couple of seconds later and the familiar figure of Sam Uley- in his human form- stepped within the boundaries of the Cullen's side of the treaty-protected land. All Cullens were too busy watching the spectacle with curiosity, annoyance or simple disdain for the shifter in front of them. Sam was an alright guy, sure, but as an Alpha he was utterly terrible; clearly not suited for the task of Alpha, as he had broken the treaty time and again just to talk to Edward about him and Jacob's...fights, shall we say.

Sam looked at Bella, who was brushing off her black and red leather jacket, and shook his head, a small smile forming on his face. "Bella, good to see you again." she froze mid brush when he said this, and in the blink of an eye he was pinned to a nearby tree, her face only an inch from his; it would look like the embrace of a lover if Bella was not shaking with rage, barely contained.

"It is most certainly not good to see _you_, Sam..." she sighed, releasing him and placing him down gently. "But you sent that lapdog after me, so what do you want?"

Sam coughed, rubbing his neck free of the sore Bella had undoubtedly gave him, before he looked up to take her in completely; Black and red leather jacket, black, long sleeved undershirt, black cargo pants and dark red laced combat boots. She looked ready for war, but she had good merit to be this paranoid of everything, what with how things had turned out for her. He instantly regretted the reason for him being here- not that it would be a negative thing, but because of the things he would bring up; in front of a family of vampires, no less. This baffled him; she was designed to kill vampires, but perhaps her lack of company and an Alpha over the years had dulled her senses? Or she had simply given up, and since he could still feel her 'senses' around his neck, even with her stood a good foot or two away from him, it was most definitely the latter.

He cleared his head of those thoughts, shaking while he did so, and turned to look at Bella, who was stood with a now expressionless face gazing back into his eyes from beyond her sunglasses.

"Yes, well, I sent Jacob to tell you that the Council wish to speak to you." He could see her open her mouth to object, but he interjected before she could. "They also wish for the Cullens to come, as well.

He turned and left before she had a chance to speak. Instead, she gritted her teeth, the grinding sound filling the area, and before the Cullen's very eyes she slammed her curled fist into the side of a nearby tree, toppling it in an instance.

Her hand looked fine, though, and Alice cleared her throat, directing everyone to look at her.

"Are...we going inside yet?"


	3. Too Fast, No Fury

_We followed her scent to Alaska, Arizona, California, and everywhere else in-between. But now...now she's finally stopped..._

_...In dreary little Forks._

(^^^^^^)

An enigma; that was all she could describe Miss Alice Cullen as. Small, clearly used to being praised and appreciated yet a fighter, someone that, if given the chance, would fight for what she wants. She was, to Bella's lack of surprise, a person that would also prepare to wage all out war for those of her family, and those that she loves. It surprised her when Alice growled, low and feral, when Emmett, the young but tall vampire with black hair and a squared face, decided to make a joke about Bella's...figure.

Rosalie, clearly the mature on their apparent relationship, slapped Emmett rather hard around the ear while Edward simply snorted and limped, while Esme rolled her eyes. No one else had anything to say, really.

Well, except for Bella.

Turning her head to face Alice, who was still crouched low and baring her teeth, she inquired. "You growled." Okay, less of a question and more of a statement, but the point was there when she noticed everyone else freeze up and stare at her weirdly.

Rosalie turned her head to Bella warily, as if tired but cautious. "You heard that?" when Bella nodded, Rosalie sighed in exasperation, tilting her head back and exclaiming to the skies. "Why can't anyone I meet be normal!?"

"You call Bella being able to take down Edward and a tree in the space of a minute normal?" Emmett smirked when his wife stopped her miniature rant, turning her head to him for a moment before shrugging.

"Good point." Edward had recovered by then, simply frowning as they continued to travel to their home.

Esme cleared her throat while Carlisle simply shook his head, continuing to lead his family into the house that they were going to enter before Edward pulled his...stunt. While yes, he did find his son's 'beat down' to be quite entertaining, this Bella person clearly was not human, and that was something he was intent on solving; well, that and whether she was a threat to his family.

It was clear she was a good soul in a bad place, but caution was something he had evolved into a daily routine; caution of everything. Firstly he knew she was inhuman, and that alone was a threat. Secondly, an unknown, and that was a threat as well. Lastly she took down a fully matured vampire. All of these together made her the perfect vampire killer.

"I believe we should sit inside before we interrogate our guest, yes?" she turned her head to Bella, who simply shrugged. "Good, good." She got the sense that Esme was the mother of this dysfunctional yet loving family of vampires; well, as much as a family can be without them being blood related in any way.

It was too much on her mind to take in, but she did so anyway with a strengthening headache brewing. They had questions, she knew, but the reason she'd answer is simply for that Alice girl's looks to go away, but at the same time, her inner feline hissed at the thought, and for some unfathomable reason, she decided to answer any and all questions thrown her way by Alice, Rosalie and Carlisle. The others she wasn't so sure about.

Once inside, however, Carlisle, most unexpectedly to the others, was the first to speak, his voice calm but with a layer of curiosity and an undertone of wariness underneath. He clapped his hands together softly, fingers interlaced with each other, and his eyes staring intently at the standing Bella- the only one to be standing really. Esme was sat next to him, busying herself by dusting off her attire from the woodland smell; Rosalie was nestled into Emmett's arms, twirling a small piece of hair between her fingers. Edward was watching with mild curiosity and annoyance, finding his inability to read a mind for once both a blessing and a curse- blessing because there may be others who can block him out, curse because this particular person was someone he wanted _in_ to their minds. Jasper went out to hunt, seeing as he hadn't for a while, and all while this was occurring, Alice was staring intently at Bella's face, hoping for some sign of emotion or acknowledgement to the events surrounding her.

"Now, it is quite clear you are more than human; I am curious however, and it is completely up to you to answer, but would you mind telling us what _exactly_ it is that you are?"

Bella simply stared at Carlisle and his whole family for a moment, before staring intently at him, his honey eyes portraying and betraying no emotion other than concern for his family, and a thirst for knowledge. Clearly he was unlike the rest of his kin, otherwise he'd be dead by now- she would know; Bella would be the one to tear him apart.

Sighing, she looked him dead in the eye. "I am quite sure the Volturi taught you everything about the mass slaughter of my kind, Doctor Cullen." Her voice was smooth, emotionless, and it was at that point Jasper flashed in, standing next to her with a simple look of calmness.

Carlisle's eyebrow rose, but it was Esme that questioned what he was about to ask himself. "You know about the Volturi?"

Bella looked at her, long and hard, as if seeing something that wasn't there before she shook her head slightly; Esme's eyes were no longer the vicious red, but amber, and her hair was not blonde, it was black. Esme did not look like him, not one bit. She found _him_, tore _him_ apart at the seams, so why the flashback? Except...maybe _he_ survived somehow, crawled through the scorched earth and fire that raged and ravaged him. Impossible, surely, but she always had that thought...

She shook her head, staring at Esme again. "Yes, I know of them. They rarely deal with the stronger races unless they want something or are about to execute a kill order."

"I hate to break up the song and dance, but can we skip to the bits that make sense?" Emmett asked, clearly impatient.

Bella simply bowed her head. "...My apologies. I am a, as you vampires call us, shifter."

And the room went silent, Alice's unneeded breath caught in her throat, eyes widening to the size of saucers, with her hands, as well as feet and legs, freezing up. Then she shot up, her mouth shooting words out of its own accord, her body pacing back and forth as she spoke jumbled, incomprehensible unintelligible gibberish. "A shifter...shifter!" she stopped; clearly unaware of everyone around her, hazel eyes boring into Bella's sunshades. "You're a shifter!?"

"Apologies if this offends you miss Alice." Bella bowed, but just as her head reached eye level, the world around her froze.

Her eyes beneath her sunshades widened, the first real emotion she'd show, and her entire form froze as she came face to face. And then something happened, something straight out of legend. Alice's family faded to murky shadows, blurring before vanishing completely. Alice drew her in with everything she did, how she moved, everything she said, her mere presence was a distraction, and yet she felt clearer. Her mind fogged and cleared at the same time, her undead heart almost beat, her mouth dropped open, and Alice froze as well. She imprinted. She imprinted on a vampire, her mortal and immortal enemies. An imprint...why? Why now, of all people and of all places?

But she didn't care, she heard her inner feline purr in content, and it was only then did she feel the immense drag of gravity that Alice had become. Her world was now Alice's, her life now Alice's, everything was Alice, and for some reason, she felt that she didn't care. But, at the same time, she was well aware of the danger this could pose. She could kill the girl with a wrong move, she could hurt her beyond words with what she said, and she could do unspeakable things, like that which she had to do to survive. Her past could come back to haunt her, and that was something she never wanted Alice- no, none of the Cullens- to be apart of.

Then her world was shaken, Alice was no longer only Alice; there was her family surrounding her now, all looking worried, save for Jasper. He knew what she had done, and he simply nodded his head in approval. It was about time she did something for the loneliness and guilt, the everlasting numbness. Jasper knew, he understood, but she did not know if he cared enough to stay with the Cullens and not go with her if she left for seemingly no reason; she had done it before, and every time Jasper came running with her, but now she felt that if he followed, or any of them did, they'd get killed.

Especially Alice, and that was something she would swear to never happen.

"Bella?"

The voice of her imprint, her mate, called out to her, and she looked Alice right in the eye before doing something no one could have predicted, foreseen. She leaned that extra inch, her eyes fluttering closed as she felt soft lips press to her own. She heard a moan of pleasure from her mate, a wolf whistle from Emmett, and a soft gasp emanate from everyone else in the room. Jasper simply rolled his eyes, clapped his hands softly and then smiled a little.

But did she care? No, she would finally have something to live for, something to come home to every night and day alive and well, just to see the face of the one she loved. She vaguely recalled, somewhere in the back of her mind that the bond was not supposed to be this strong, but then again; it wasn't everyday a vampire was mated to you, and you mated to it.

She felt hands wrap around the back of her neck, keeping her in place as her mate lifted herself on her tip toes to deepen the kiss, and felt a delighted purr rumble from her chest. Wait, the purr was rumbling from her chest? Odd that vampires purr, but she herself purred, and no complaints came to mind, so she'd ignore it. It wasn't a feline purr though, it was more of a rumble if anything, something any animal would make, but not a feline itself.

Bella decided to break away, finally aware of her surroundings and that she was being stared at by a coven- family- of vampires, and her vampire travelling companion.

And again, Carlisle was the one to clear the air with a slight clearing of the throat. "Well...I..."

Rosalie took over. "The hell just happened!?"

Carlisle decided to end this line of speech quickly, lest his daughter start swearing up a storm. "How about we move on?" he coughed, unneeded, but clearly easing the tension. "You said 'mass slaughter'? There are other shifters here." His change of topic was not lost to her, and she silently praised his very existence.

"I know that," she said casually as she gently removed Alice's hands from the back of her neck. "But they are not true shifters. They mimic my kind, clearly not one of us."

"How do you figure?"

"Well, for starters they are the wrong breed, and wrong animal altogether." She explained." To second that, they are not immortal; they die of old age, though they do have extended lifespans." She sighed when she felt Alice leave her side, though she felt elated on the inside for some reason when she felt her hand press over her chest, just above her heart, and her head nestled gently in the crook of her neck a second after. "And lastly-"

"-They have a heartbeat." Alice finished for her, and Bella simply nodded. She could feel Alice nuzzling her neck, but simply threw all her attention into why, exactly, the bond was this strong already; it shouldn't be this strong, it should be impossible, something that should not happen in the first place; yet here she was, mated and bonded for the rest of her existence to a vampire.

Mated. To. A. Vampire.

She was mated to a vampire. A fucking vampire! Why wasn't she caring about this!? They're mortal enemies, something to be feared and fought with every last ounce of strength until they're dead, ripped apart and burnt to ashes.

Yet she didn't care.

"I...see." no, he did not, Carlisle did not see; he could not possibly understand her, nor her breed unless she showed him in person, and to do that she'd need a reason- she was not a circus, and she did not go around shifting for those who simply wanted explanation: But if Alice asked her on the other hand...

She froze; since when did Alice matter so much? She barely knew her! Then again, Alice was her imprint, and the pull was stronger already with the vampire mating bond being active; with the imprint working she could kiss the thought of leaving goodbye- Or, at least, leaving without Alice.

She turned her head and saw the looks of shock still on some of the Cullen's faces. It was quite clear that they were all still thinking about what she and Alice had just done- not that she cared what they thought or anything. But they needed to know, and she needed to speak with her imprint, to explain things to her and only her; it would be painful to keep secrets- literally- from her mate, so she decided to simply explain. But just because she explained to Alice, did not mean everyone else needed to be around.

"Jasper...could you explain to them what just happened? I...need to talk to Alice. Alone."

Without further word, she whisked Alice into her arms and flashed out of the building quicker than a vampire could ever hope to achieve. There was a reason her kind are known as vampire hunters.

She stopped, much to Alice's annoyance, within a meadow. But her eyes widened when she saw what used to be there now gone. Where there had been ravishingly beautiful daisies and sunflowers, gorgeously tall tulips and lavender plants, there were now weeds, dead dry grass, and an air of lost love. She used to come here every fifty years, tend to this place inch by inch, and make sure that everything was safe and sound before leaving again for pack business; well, back when she was in the pack.

Shaking her head to rid herself of the memories, she heard Alice gasp, clearly taking in the field where plants had once clearly thrived. "What...Who could have done such a thing?"

Bella had no answer, so she simply removed herself from Alice and walked over to the centre of the dead meadow, taking in the death of her beautiful plants. Her plants were gone, things that she had preserved for years, just wiped out like that. Gone, like everything else in her life.

Then she felt the rage, the pure unadulterated _rage_, something that had not been felt for quite some time. She almost welcomed it, embracing the feeling of finally being able to feel an emotion, but a cool, cold hand that clutched her forearm- that she realised was shaking from pure anger- pulled her from one dead emotion into another; content? Happiness? Something that spread throughout her arm, sending tingles from the contact and searing its way into her dead heart was felt, and she wasn't sure what it was.

She knew she liked it though.

Her head whipped around to see two amber pools of worry looking at her, clearly fearful of her yet, at the same time, scared of what she was feeling; it was as if...Alice had a vision, didn't she?

"What did you see?"

Alice looked at her worriedly, turning her head, Bella following just in time to see a figure blur through the woods around them. The shadow was at least the average size of a human, but something was off. It...Was running like a human, yet at inhuman speeds, supernatural, almost seeming to blur at they moved without use of the shadows bending their form.

Her nose caught the scent, and she growled, low and primal. Vampire. There was a vampire, an unknown one, stalking her this whole time? She's lost her touch, and that was a dangerous thing to lose for one such as her.

The figure stopped in front of her, and she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Ashley?"

(^^^^^^)

The scent was feint, almost lost, yet she did come through here. Running with his paws pounding the ground, he came to a stop. A clearing much like an ocean, but instead a lake more than anything. He shook in utter rage that he had been outsmarted again, before lifting his head and releasing what sounded like a roar. Animalistic, feral, yet oddly a charming noise.

The scent all but evaporated when he made the decision to sniff the air near the lake, and he screamed within his head, anger coursing through his veins once more as he shifted, not bothering to place on any clothing as he waited for his pride mates.

His beta walked out first, a large scar on her otherwise perfect, golden face; a leopard was a hard shifter species to find, but Bella's...he growled softly at the mere mention of her name in his own head.

She had done nothing wrong, yet he exiled her, branding her am Omega all those years ago. He only just realised what a mistake that was when three of his pack mates died of an infection- an infection! Whenever he saw her working on patients, she made sure they walked away with little more than a slap on the wrist. If it were a female, it would be on the backside, but who was he to judge?

The anger of his foolishness rose within him again- he allowed jealousy to take over, to rule his instincts. The new medic of their pack was nothing if not inexperienced. Clearly she knew nothing, but everything pointed to her being at least capable of cleaning wounds. He thought that was good enough when he allowed her to join; clearly he was wrong.

The first died within the first day of infection; it spread quicker for them due to their naturally cold yet warm bodies- no one knew why they were cold and warm at the same time.

The second was a good friend of Bella's- a previous good friend, anyway, since the pride betrayed her. Rebecca was a cougar, literally, and someone Bella could always rely on, always looked out for. It hurt him to see her die, but at the same time that was when he realised that he needed Bella more than he previously did.

His pride could easily see what he was thinking, and Margaret, another friend of his old pride mate's, was almost killing herself on the inside form what she had done.

They all resolved to find Bella, bring her back to the pride, and make sure she never left. The getting to her should be easier than this, but the hard part would be getting her to come with them.

Carlos couldn't believe what he was thinking, but he needed her, they needed her.

It was just a matter of time...


End file.
